Clinical dashboard to help monitor peak flow for asthma

Written by Kate McDonald on 07 September 2014.

The developers behind the Breathe Easy asthma management app are currently building an online clinical dashboard that will allow GPs and patients to monitor the results of peak flow testing and other symptoms and let patients adapt their action plans accordingly.

The Breathe Easy app was developed by Asthma New Zealand in association with John McRae, CEO of promotions and app development firm VADR, who has had asthma since childhood.

The Breathe Easy app was developed for the iPhone and launched in 2012. It allows users to monitor peak flow levels and create action plans to share with their GP, and offers reminders to take medication as well as links to important information and support from Asthma New Zealand.

Asthma New Zealand says it is essentially a digitalised system that improves on, and will eventually replace, current paper-based asthma management plans.

A key feature of the app is its ability to remind users to use their inhaler or preventer. While a wide range of asthma medication is available, as Mr McRae says, “If you don’t take it, it doesn’t work.”

The app also contains an asthma control test that allows users to record, compare and share results with practitioners.

VADR is now developing an online clinical dashboard, which will provide GPs with an overview of their patient’s symptoms. Asthma New Zealand said it would give GPs a greater understanding of the condition for individual patients.

The app is available from iTunes for free and has also been adapted for Australian and US users.